CH. 19-4 FREEDOM OF
ASSEMBLY AND PETITION
ADVANCED AMERICAN
GOVERNMENT
THE CONSTITUTION’S GUARANTEES
• The Ist Amendment states:
• “…the right of the people peaceably to
assemble, and to petition the Government for
redress of grievances.”
• ASSEMBLE—to gather with one another
• Things protected: written petitions, letters, or
advertisements; lobbying; or parades,
marches, or other demonstrations
• CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE—violating the law
nonviolently but deliberately
• Does the 1st and 14th Amends. Protect civil
disobedience?
• Courts have consistently said the civil
disobedience is not protected
TIME-PLACE-MANNER REGULATIONS
• Government can make and enforce reasonable
rules concerning time, place, and manner of
assemblies
• Grayned v. City of Rockford (1972)—USSC said a
city could create a noise ordinance if an assembly
near a school caused a disruption to activities
• Government rules must be CONTENT NEUTRAL
• Can’t regulate what is said
PUBLIC PROPERTY
• Most demonstrations take place on public
property: streets, sidewalks, public parks
• There is always some degree of conflict
• USSC normally requires advance notice of a
demonstration by requiring a license, etc.
• GREGORY V. CHICAGO (1969)
• While under police protection, Dick Gregory and
others marched, while singing, chanting, and
carrying placards, from city hall to the mayor’s
house 5 miles away
• They demanded the firing of the school’s
superintendent and an end to de facto
segregation
• A crowd of hundreds gathered, including many
residents from the all-white neighborhood
• Bystanders began throwing insults and threat,
as well as rocks, eggs, and other things
• Police tried to keep order, but they decided
serious violence was going to break out
• Demonstrators were ordered to leave the area
• Gregory and others refused and were arrested
and charged with disorderly conduct
• Their arrests and convictions were
unanimously overturned
• USSC said they were just exercising their
constitutional rights of assembly and petition
• Neighborhood residents caused the
disruption, not the marchers
• Hill v. Colorado (2000)—USSC ruled 5-4
upholding a state law the limits “sidewalk
counseling” at abortion clinics.
• Law creates an 8-foot buffer zone around
anyone within 100 feet of the entrance
• No one may make an “unwanted approach” to
talk or do such other things as hand out a
leaflet or wave a sign
PRIVATE PROPERTY
• What is the ruling about demonstrations on
private property such as a shopping mall?
• Very few cases but the right of assembly
cannot be used to trespass on private
property
FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION
• This guarantees the right to associate with
others to promote political, economic, and
other social causes
• NAACP vs. Alabama (1958)—”…it is beyond
doubt that freedom to engage in association
for the advancement of beliefs and ideas is an
inseparable aspect” of constitutional
guarantees
• Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000)—The
BSA has a constitutional right to exclude gays
from their organization
• The New Jersey Supreme Court had said that
Eagle Scout James Dale, who was dismissed
because he was gay, should be re-instated.
• THE END